Saturday, July 17, 2010

I glide, I glide!






One of my favorite movies is "What About Bob", about a multi -phobic psychiatrist patient (Bill Murray) who is obsessed with finding where his new doctor( Richard Dreyfuss) is vacationing. One of Bob's memorable lines is "I sail, I sail!" when he conquers his fear of boats.
Well, I didn't have a fear of vintage 1950's porch gliders, I had more of a deep down desire to own one, even though most gliders at "The Longest Yard Sale" and "Antique Alley" were way too expensive for my budget. They could run from 100.00 to 200.00 for a rusty beat up one, to 5oo.oo for a beautifully restored one, so I just admired them from a distance. A few months ago, a local consignment shop had one freshly painted for 40.00 but in the few hours that I hesitated, then went back for it , it was sold...
And then there was yesterday...a phone call and text at 8 AM, alerting me to a promising looking yard sale nearby, then a phone call from my friend Nancy who went to it and told me there was an old glider there for 40.00!
It took me forever to get to the sale. I had to wait my turn in the shower, my husband came home early from work, a man registering people to vote, door to door, a trip to two banks, then finally the yard sale.
I saw the glider, but foolishly thought I had no room for it on my porch, so my husband and I left with a small vintage console and book shelves. Upon returning home, however, I looked at my porch and moved some things around and announced to my husband Ray that I probably could fit it, and I had always wanted one and he agreed I should go back and get it, offering 35.oo because it was all the money we had on us which included 3.oo in coins scraped up from around the house! Thankfully it was still there and the lady agreed to the price, so after borrowing a vehicle from a friend, we got it home.
Then Ray began to work his magic on it! It was a drab olive green color with many rusty patches originally, but Ray who paints car exteriors and interiors for a living did a custom looking paint job for me and I could not have been more excited! He masked off squares on the back painting them white, while painting the rest, a nice cool minty green. He is going to paint the arms white today, but I was anxious to share the pictures of how it looks so far! It was painted with spray paint, which I know sounds easy, but I am not good at holding the can properly or at the right distance and get drips and globs, but Ray holds it just so, and methodically sprays without drips or globs! So now...
"I glide, I glide!!"

5 comments:

  1. Wow, he did an amazing job! It looks brand new. You'll have so much fun gliding!

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  2. What a find! I lurk garage sales and antique shops and flea markets pretty often. I can't say that I EVER remember seeing a glider! I need to keep my eyes open wider. This is terrific! Enjoy.

    Oh, and lucky you the hubs can do the work...it looks great!

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  3. We used to have a glider exactly like yours and almost the same color as the second photo! Someone gave it to us years ago and we kept it around for a long time. Not sure if we sold it in a garage sale or donated it. When I read what they are going for I about dropped my teeth. I'm going to have to tell my husband. So glad you finally got one. Enjoy gliding!

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  4. So glad you were able to get this one. The paint job looks great and it looks so good on your front porch.

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  5. OH MY GOODNESS!!!! This is deliciously wonderful! As girl living in a second floor apartment I DREAM (not covet :-/ ok so a little bit covet) porches, and porch swings and gliders and such. This is a work of art! I'm so happy you found it and made it beautiful!

    -K

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